Asbestos Exposure and the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer

While it is true that as of 2024 many types of cancer have been more directly linked to asbestos compared to others, the question is, what should we make of the relation between asbestos exposure and cancers that are comparatively less-associated with this carcinogenic mineral? To explore this important question, we will consider a particularly dangerous type of cancer that seems to be trending in a concerning direction in recent decades. Here’s what you should know about asbestos exposure and the risk of pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic Cancer- an Overview

When the pancreas develops cancerous cells that begin to overgrow and overrun the organ, this is known as pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer can come with a variety of symptoms that may or may not take place in every circumstance. There are a variety of contributing factors, both to the development of pancreatic cancer as well as the associating symptoms. With that being said, the most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer include upper abdominal pain, discolored urine (dark), jaundice symptoms (yellowish coloring of skin and eyes), discolored stools (pale/white), diabetes, nausea before and after eating, significant weight changes, loss of appetite, indigestion, and abdominal swelling.

Causes and Risk Factors of Pancreatic Cancer

The associative causes of pancreatic cancer have historically included a series of risk factors. These include seemingly basic concerns, which we might explain as common sense risk factors. Among these risk factors are the following: tobacco, coffee, alcohol, diet, and pan. Other risk factors beyond these include obesity, diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, pancreatic lesions, and other related factors. 

Environmental Exposure

An interesting point made by Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center is that pancreatic cancer can also be caused by associated environmental factors. This point brings asbestos into the center of discussion, as the risk factors listed by one of the premier medical institutions in the country includes asbestos exposure. While it may be surprising to hear a medical insitution list asbestos as a risk factor for a form of cancer not regularly associated with asbestos exposure, this point is simply highlighting what is already known about the nature of asbestos exposure at large. For example one of the risk factors for stomach cancer is asbestos exposure in a person’s environment. This is also true about lung cancer: Researchers say that ‘Asbestos Exposure is the most important cause of mortality from on-the-job lung cancer.’ They recommend that former asbestos workers and their household members who are currently 50 and older should be screened for asbestos scarring.

Genetic Mutations and Asbestos Exposure

In other words, asbestos exposure is an environmental concern that does not play favorites with the particular bodily organs the fibers end up coming into contact with via inhalation or ingestion. To explain what happens in the body, Cheng et al. describe the genetic mutation that takes place after asbestos fibers enter the body: Through a process known as epigenetics, asbestos fibers appear to affect and alter a person’s genes in a way that increases the risk of developing cancerous tumors.

Industry Coverups?

Asbestos was once celebrated as a remarkably durable and affordable substance. Places were named after asbestos and it was the state rock of California at one point. However, today it is ironically known as a cancer-causing substance. But how did this change take place? 

When asbestos was initially in use, medical research did not exist in large quantities, nor was not readily available to the public in the days before digital media. Risk factors were simply an afterthought compared to the impressive qualities of asbestos. However, time was not the friend of asbestos, as the mortality rate and the destroyed lives of those who worked with asbestos began to increase to such a large amount, it could no longer be ignored by the general public or by regulating authorities. 

Despite this, rather than risking the end of a lucrative enterprise, suppression and denial was the one-two punch of the asbestos industry. Today, the question of whether asbestos exposure can lead to pancreatic cancer raises a related issue of how and to what extent the asbestos industry should be held accountable. For that reason- and for better or worse, the impact of this kind of research is both medical as well as political in nature.

Carcinogenic Exposure Means Health Defects of All Kinds

With these points in mind, asbestos exposure can lead to virtually any kind of cancer in the human body, be it the notorious development of mesothelioma, the lesser known association of prostate cancer, or our current consideration of pancreatic cancer. Since no amount of asbestos exposure is safe for the human body, and asbestos is considered carcinogenic, we are experiencing a trend of more and more cancers being associated with asbestos exposure, thanks to the unfortunate increase in cancer cases and mortality rates of patients with a medical history of asbestos exposure.

Medical Research on Asbestos and Pancreatic Cancer

No doubt, there are many who remain unaware of the potential connection between asbestos exposure and pancreatic cancer, and that is largely because pancreatic cancer is not in vogue the same way that cancers like mesothelioma or lung cancer are. But this public sentiment may be on the verge of changing. Recent research suggests there may be a link worth exploring. While asbestos is commonly associated with lung cancer and mesothelioma, emerging studies indicate a possible correlation with pancreatic cancer as well.

A monumental 2022 study entitled “Risk Factors of Pancreatic Cancer: A Literature Review” put forth an evaluation of how asbestos fibers can have a chemical effect, making cancers such as pancreatic cancer more likely to occur after the occurrence of asbestos exposure. The study does not say emphatically that asbestos causes pancreatic cancer, particularly due to the absence of substantial research dedicated to this question, but it does suggest that there seems to be a contributing factor relationship between the two- and one that needs to be researched more thoroughly. It may be that more research will lead to a future association with asbestos and pancreatic cancer that is as much in vogue as other cancers like lung cancer and mesothelioma.